Gazing At the Stars with HiSPARC
Authors: Matthijs Maas & Leonie Sellies
If you thought that practical research into astrophysics is the stuff of remote high-tech observatories, or that high-energy particle physics are supposed to take place within the sterile walls of government-funded [and exceedingly expensive] laboratories and underground facilities; if, in short, you think that physics as a whole is the domain of grey old men in white coats—brilliant eccentrics living in their ivory towers—then think again. Wednesday, April 28th, saw astrophysics come to our very own UC campus during a captivating event which challenged conventional popular conceptions of the discipline, and—hopefully—will spark enthusiasm and inspiration in a new generation of science students.
The HiSPARC [High School Project on Astroparticle Cosmic Rays, red.] Student Symposium, held on campus this year at the behest of our own UC astrophysics lecturer Filipe Freire, is the annual culmination of the HISPARC project, which allows Dutch secondary school (4, 5 and 6 HAVO and VWO) - and in some cases bachelor students to actively experience and be a part of a real study of experimental particle physics.
The basic concepts and physics behind the project are quite simple, however; HiSPARC, which as of now is academically, technologically and financially supported by multiple universities and supervised by the Amsterdam-based Nikhef [Nederlands Instituut voor Kernfysica en Hoge-EnergieFysica—Dutch Institute for Nuclear- and High-energy physics], focuses on the phenomenon of so-called particle showers, caused by the collision of extremely high-energy cosmic radiation—particles ejected from stars, supernovae, and other astronomical processes—with the earth’s atmosphere. While most of these initial cosmic rays do not make it to sea-level, their impact on high-altitude particles has a cascading effect and swiftly sends an avalanche of particles (often Muons, a heavier variety of electrons) plummeting towards the earth. It is these particles that can subsequently be picked up by quite inexpensive and simple scintillator detectors, which give of minute flashes of light upon being struck by the rays. Over the course of the project, the components of these detectors are produced and delivered by universities, assembled by the students themselves and, completed, subsequently deployed on the roofs of their high schools, where they will start to harvest collision data which the students, again, are taught to analyze themselves.
According to Prof. Dr. Johannes Boonstra, head of the UCU Science department, the project was founded when a growing realization took place in the (European) academic world that there was a significant drop in undergraduate student enrollment for science studies in general and physics in particular. In discussing the matter, Vincent Icke, Professor of Astrophysics and Cosmology, pioneering visual artist and keynote speaker at the symposium, argued that since the 1960’s Europe’s scientific community “has lost a lot of students” from the regular academic circuit to the avenues and prospects of industrial and corporate employment that have been opening up in the last half-century. One of Icke’s best graduate students, for instance, now does “Risk assessment for a car lease corporation”. Despite a recent and small resurgence of enrollment as a result of the economic downturn—demand for good professional physicists is high, making it an economically secure career choice—the overall trend still seems to be towards a slow but sure withering of ‘hard science’.
In addition, many research institutes in Europe are faced with a slow erosion of levels of government funding that were already abysmal. As Icke illustrated, the Netherlands is currently ranked below several Central African states in terms of percentage of GDP subsidies for science. Icke and his colleagues further argue that this situation is due to a pervading public lack of knowledge on the processes and experiments of scientists. Too many people fail to understand even the basics of science, and too often scientists fail to properly bother to explain things to them; to reach out and, in Icke’s words, “Raise awareness and show people the beauty of it all”. This will help to both justify [funding for] research as well as “understand that (all) research is a necessary cultural function of a well-educated and –developed country.” Icke is hopeful about the many bright, young and passionate students in the new generation of physicists, yet fears that despite this, it will take a larger change in policy—and, perhaps even more crucially, the stimulation of student awareness—to undo the damage and secure the future of Dutch technological innovation and scientific expertise. Failure to do so will in Icke’s view result in an inevitable “falling behind” of Holland and Europe in science within 15 years.
To counteract such a projected demise of the historical physics supremacy of Europe, HiSPARC was adopted from similar low-cost promotion- and recruiting initiatives in the US, and saw its introduction to the Netherlands, initially in 2003 as the regional project NASHA, under the guidance of Charles Timmermans of Radboud University; shortly after, this got adopted into the nation-wide HiSPARC-program, which was in turn overseen by Bob van Eijk [Nikhef & University of Twente] and Jan-Willem van Holten [Nikhef & University of Leiden]. Quickly showing promise in raising awareness, fostering passion, and engaging young prospective scientists, it has been growing ever since—indeed, there are already plans on the table for an initiative called ‘EuroCosmics’, which seeks to apply this basic concept continent-wide.
As HiSPARC is quite a long-term project, the participants from different schools congregate at the end of every academic year, together with their teachers, coaches, and supporting undergraduate students [it is possible, also for UC Science majors, to do one’s physics thesis on the HiSPARC venture]. At these conferences, the results from all the detection stations are accumulated and can be evaluated, and furthermore can present, to both their peers as well as some of the big names in Dutch physics, their efforts and how they went about approaching their research. And through the efforts of Mr. Freire, UCU plays a key role in this process; in fact, in the past year several of the aforementioned detectors have been installed atop Dining Hall, linking ‘UCU’ up to the HiSPARC network. Perhaps most significantly, however, is the selection of UC as the site of the prestigious final event.
The day itself was opened by a series of talks in the nearly half-filled Auditorium. Teams from a number of high schools across the Netherlands settled in the booths with their teachers and supporters, the occasional youth riven with anticipation over their impending presentation. Amongst the attendees were also a notable number of older physicists, amongst them UCU cofounder and former dean dhr. Prof. dr. J.E.J.M. van Himbergen. However, while this older generation was admittedly almost exclusively made up by men, the ranks of the high school students, while still slightly skewed towards the stereotypically male dominance, did include a substantial number of girls, many of whom might arguably have been amongst the most passionate participants.
What one notices, however, is that many of the participants admit to already having had a certain degree of interest in science and physics even before participating in the project. For instance, almost all of them are doing N&T or N&G profiles [Dutch high school equivalent of Science tracks]. Take Amanda Overdevest, a HAVO 4 student and the only representative from her high school in Twente, who is attending the conference even though the detectors are right now still being set up in her hometown. Or Janna Goldstein from the Zaanlands Lyceum, who concedes that she “is not more motivated by the project […] I already had an interest in science beforehand”. As such, it might be argued that the project is thus missing its target audience—those gifted students that are not yet acquainted with physics and thus have not yet seriously considered a career in the field—and merely ends up ‘preaching to the choir’. To this Surya Bonam, national coordinator of HiSPARC, replies that, while there is obviously the tendency for HiSPARC to especially attract students already way into the sciences, the fact that the project takes place in (and on top of) these schools will be bound to raise interests and questions. Indeed in some cases the detector data is being recorded live on monitors in the hallways, and this will certainly put astrophysics ‘out there’ even for the less science-oriented students. And even if it failed in this, there is an undeniable merit even in reinforcing existing conviction. Either way it certainly seemed to have worked for Marieke [she preferred to omit her last name], who was one of the first participants of HiSPARC back when it was first started, and who is now studying [astro]physics in Utrecht. She was present at the symposium by virtue of doing research on exactly the question of whether the project attracts more students, and she argued that it does, in fact, an excellent job in opening science up to more people who are still hesitant or in the dark about science, and that for those who are already committed it is an superb exercise in applying scientific principles to experiments.
Regardless, the symposium itself was a solid success; after a slight delay, Mr. Freire, who presided over the conference and announced the speakers, swiftly introduced Dr. Boonstra who, despite being somewhat in the dark himself as to the physics involved—by virtue of being first and foremost a biologist—attended as the head of the UCU Sciences department and gave the brief obligatory UCU public-relations speech. Vincent Icke followed with a captivating lecture on the origin of the cosmic rays the students had been studying for so long; in particular going into the characteristic patterns in the solar winds of binary star systems. In the second half of the symposium students were given the opportunity to present their projects—both in speech and using posters—to an audience of peers, teachers and judges, as well as perform a hands-on data analysis exercise of the detectors and discuss the results with each other. Ultimately, the presentation competition was won by Jacek Smit and Matthijs Kuik from the Haarlem-based Coornhert Lyceum. They thus won a visit to the famous CERN complex in Geneva, Switzerland. The jury explained its decision as being based on the direct and significant relevance of their project [which doubled as a profielwerkstuk, the Dutch equivalent of an IB Extended Essay] to the HiSPARC project, and because it offered a plethora of opportunities for future development, expansion and experimental refinement. While Smit & Kuik—who later revealed that they had not particularly considered their project to fit these definitions—were initially quite surprised by the outcome, this swiftly made way for relief and euphoria. Even so, with their high school graduation within sight, their sights seem set right now on studying electro-technology and IT.
For now, the HiSPARC community is silent again, preparing for another cohort of young, passionate students next year. To some, perhaps, it might seem a scientifically insignificant game; a silly PR-stunt or show; but to others it might be clear that there are few projects which now hold as much significance for science. In monitoring the beauty of the heavens, scientists should never forget to turn one eye to their heirs—and give them a peek through the telescope. And thus, all the while, even if the students are now—temporarily—gone, the cosmic particle rain continues unabated, sending flashes of light through detectors that gaze unendingly back up at the stars.